


Of Men and Monsters

by King_Carbonele



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Genji's a magical cat, M/M, Mentioned Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Nekomata!Genji, So werecat boy lmao, Teraphilia, With a human form, also, ana amari - Freeform, monster hunter!McCree, will add tags as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 02:12:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14345781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Carbonele/pseuds/King_Carbonele
Summary: When accomplished monster hunter Jesse McCree comes to the aid of a city that has been harassed by an unknown force he assumes there must be a poltergeist or a weak demon involved in these happenings. Unknown to him there are creatures yet to be discovered by his organization of hunters, namely ones with cute little ears and bobbed tails.





	1. Chapter 1

Jesse boarded the train and made his way through the old cars until he found one that was mostly empty in comparison to the others. The rest of the cars were filled with talking or smoke, though the smoke hardly bothered him. He simply didn't want to deal with the curious eyes or quiet remarks of passengers at the moment. He had work to get to and wanted time to himself to rest before getting to what was reported to be a hot spot of paranormal activity.

He put his bag on the ground by his feet while he sat by the window on the train. He kept it close enough that he could keep an eye on it and deter anyone from possibly attempting to take it. He adjusted his coat under him and tipped his hat down so the large brim would shield his eyes from light as he settled down with plans to sleep through the ride. Though he was too anxious, he's been off the job for too long, and sleep failed to come.

Within minutes of getting comfortable in his seat he sat up, fixed his hat, and looked out the window of the train as it gained speed while it charged through the countryside. The sound of the train getting louder each passing second with the newly gained momentum. As it barreled through towns and countryside every now and again they would pass cities in the distance or something far off that he would have to remind himself to come back to see if he ever got time enough for a vacation.

Everything going by Jesse’s window looked so normal and peaceful. Almost everything did from an outsider’s perspective. But sometimes when he would step into a town called onto the job for his line of work, everything was less that peaceful. There had been a few times when he debated if it was possible to summon hell on Earth or not despite the peaceful exterior of the town or city or home he was called to.

But it was his job to go into these seemingly normal towns and purge whatever evil was plaguing it. It had been his job as soon as he was able to link up with other hunters and learn the trade. He pursued hunting from growing up in admiration of the men and women regarded as heroes to people like himself at the time.

He broke onto the scene at a young age, younger than most hunters did. His determination working as fuel to lead him onward to efficiency and a good kill rate. It was his dream to be a hero, just like those he had grown up admiring.

It made his heart ache for the people who had normal lives taken from them because of the various things he was sent to kill or banish from this realm to go back to whatever hell it had crawled out of. So he took up the work to restore that normality as best as he could. Saving people and being able to see their joy was what he strove for.

Over the years he had become renowned for his work, the name Jesse McCree was common among most people. It wasn’t his goal when he started, but sometimes a fate that wasn’t anticipated befalls you and there’s no other choice than to pick up the reins and ride it out as long as the powers that be decide to keep it up.

Jesse spent most of the ride reflecting on past hunts. His old wounds ached from the memories. When the train pulled into the station and his stop was called Jesse gathered up his bag and adjusted his hat before he stepped out onto the platform.

He glanced around, the sun was setting and the air was cool. It was a nice evening and didn't see anyone else with him on the platform and he couldn't say he expected to see anyone else. Not with the reports he was getting on what was happening here. Anyone that would want to show up in this city for their vacation most likely had a twisted idea of what a vacation was.

Everything in the reports seemed to point at either a powerful poltergeist or a demon of some sort. The city was tortured with moving objects. Sometimes it would be something small and relatively harmless like a glass being thrown across a room. But then other times it would be something bigger, like a dresser or a bed or many objects at once or in rapid succession of one another. He heard of a few people levitating as well. There were also a few shoddy reports of possession but he didn't know how much that was the people making things up and how much it was the truth.

Along with the moving objects there had been more than a few instances that threatened people’s lives. There had been fires as a result of objects being moved, broken bones, various major and minor injuries, and countless reports of emotional and mental trauma from these incidences. There had also been times where people were trapped in rooms unable to escape and no one to notice that they were stuck due to some kind of veil of sorts keeping their struggle hidden.

Though as far as anyone knew there wasn’t one place everything happened at, it seemed like this creature was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. There were reports from all over and no one house seemed to be the main target of the activity.

As he walked through the station he could already tell there was something watching him. He couldn't tell where this feeling was coming from but it made him uneasy nonetheless. He adjusted his coat and pulled it around him feeling less vulnerable that way. He tightened his grip on his bag, if anything happened he could at least easily access his small arsenal of weapons.

He was lucky the train station was located fairly close to a number of inns where he could take advantage of their space for a few days as he hunted this monster. Every call he had proved a different task for him and some were easier than others, but he had plenty of experience with poltergeists and demons. He was expecting at least three days to figure this one out. He didn’t spend years being a hunter to drag out a call like this. But his time off to recover from his last set of wounds made him feel a bit rusty, but he wasn't going to let the rust hold him back.

Jesse avoided as many people as he could while he walked to the nearest inn. People shouted at him, wanting to pedal their goods since the area attracted tourists when the town wasn’t seized by the paranormal. He ignored them already set on getting to an inn to work. He would pay attention to less pressing matters when there wasn’t a monster to hunt.

Being watched on the platform didn't help the unease he was feeling on the train ride in and he didn’t want to waste any time. If there was something around that was able to torment so many people and be able to already be aware of his presence in the city he wanted to finish this job as fast as he could. And the best way he could assess the situation was to experience something that the creature was able to do in person.

Jesse made his way to an inn and requested a room for a few nights. He paid and was handed the key then walked to his room. It was small but he didn’t need much space. Aside from the bed, a nightstand with a lamp, and a small dresser, there was only the bathroom. It was perfect for what he needed it for, which was only sleeping as far as he was concerned.

He went over to the bed and set out his bag. There were more weapons than clothes in it. He has to prioritize his work far over anything else. He started to empty the bag and put his clothing in the dresser. Once that was sorted he turned to the weapons he brought.

First he pulled out the gun he always carried with him on missions. The revolver had earned the name Peacekeeper from the countless hunts where in clutch situations it was the thing that saved his or someone else’s life. Though not every monster could be shot out of, he felt better about having the revolver by his side every time he went to face a monster. It gave him some peace of mind.

He went through his other tools and weapons and laid them out on the bed. It was mostly knives since he could throw them if his gun ran out of bullets. But there was also his crossbow. It was similar to his revolver in that he hardly went on a hunt without it. The crossbow provided a similar comfort to the gun.

He moved to the potions and picked the ones he felt would be most useful. Before he left one of his higher ups, Ana insisted he took the potions, they were her trademark weapon. The instant reactions they gave when smashed on the ground were good in a fight but Ana was the best trained with them. Even though he didn’t use them as efficiently as she did he wouldn’t refuse her help or better judgement. He trusted her more than anyone else he worked with.

He slid the potions into their proper place along his belt and added knives to the mix. He put a few of them in his coat as well. For as large as it was it would be illogical to not utilize the space for holding weapons. He loaded his revolver and slid it in the holster then counted out a few more bullets to take along. He would make sure to ration what he had since bullets didn’t come cheap. He rounded off everything with the crossbow on his back and a quiver of bolts at his hip.

There was a large castle within the city that was now abandoned and people were suspicious of any spirits that remained or manifested after the abandonment. Even though there was nothing to indicate that the castle had anything to do with spirit activity he wanted to check it and either check it off his list or know that was where he would be working for the most part.

Jesse had a rough idea of how to get to the castle from where he was staying. The castle sat above the rest of the city to begin with, but it was a matter of finding which streets he could go down and not get himself getting horribly lost in this city. Any new city ran the risk of turning him around uselessly.

He pulled his coat around himself to seclude his various tools and weapons but that would only do so much. People would easily see the crossbow on his back and he was sure the news of a hunter headed to the city would have already spread among the citizens. He left his room and headed back outside. He looked up to the castle that he planned on going to and began to head in what he assumed would be the best direction to get there.

As he walked people would come up to him they gave him their thanks for even beginning to put effort towards liberating their city from the supernatural force that held it. There had been a few that stopped him to give him blessings or charms for protection. Regardless of what was offered to him he took it graciously. He didn’t become a hunter to leverage his power to turn down the offerings of people, especially the ones he was helping.

He was in the city to make things better and even if he didn't have a solution to the situation right away he wanted to at least let the people know he was their friend, not just their protector. As ridiculous as it sounded, from his experience having the people he worked around feel better helped in the end. It lifted some of the gloom in the area and having raised spirits around him helped the way he operated. It usually weakened a spirit because the positive emotion didn’t allow it to have such a hard grasp on the people.

Though among everything good that went on as he walked to the city there was negativity at some point. People would call out warnings, some even telling him to go back. It was the warnings that he really listened to.

Everyone seemed to have a different story they called out. Some said it was a demon, others said it was a ghost. There were others yet with different stories of what this thing he was about to encounter could be, most of the words he didn’t recognize.

Regardless of what they said it was he wouldn't let their tales deter him. He would use anything that would help him figure out how this thing worked to help his cause. He was here for work and for the job that he pursued since he was a child. No matter how scary these people tried to chalk the monster up to being it was his job to hunt it. He hated to feel cocky but he would bet that many of the creatures that he had faced before were worse than this one.

He was also getting so close to the castle that turning back would only scare the people. He could only assume what theories would rise from the people that watched him leave. Turning back would be a poor choice especially with the amount of people watching him now.

Jesse got to the foot of the castle and looked up at the walls that sealed it off from the city around it. He could tell they were once beautiful and now they stood tall but no longer proud. They looked almost sad as they turned out to the city below. It seemed to droop with age and the colors it was painted with were faded from the sun and chipped away from weather. With the way it aged he couldn't blame the people of the city for thinking it was what housed whatever was terrorizing them.

He mounted the stairs and began to climb upwards. The feeling of being watched returned but there wasn't a heavy oppressive feeling that usually came with calls like this. He didn't feel unwelcome or that there was something troubled behind these walls it felt curious more than it did anything else. 

Jesse got to the gate and expected resistance from the doors that shut the castle off from the world. With their age he was sure the hinges had gone bad but they swung open easily. He glanced behind him briefly at the crowd that had gathered at the foot of the steps. He knew there were people down there that depended on him to make this right. Every set of eyes that looked up at him belong to someone who needed his help, and that pushed him to move on with the hunt.

Those people that needed him were what he was here for. He wanted to make sure that one day they could live safely and no longer have to worry about what possibly laid behind these castle walls or elsewhere in the city. 

He took a deep breath and looked ahead of himself and stepped into the castle grounds. It was beautiful despite being overgrown and the intensely curious feeling that was in the air.

The castle grounds looked empty and he took a few more steps forward. He moved his hand to the revolver on his hip and looked around focusing on the area around him wanting to stay alert as well as assess where he was. One of the trees in front of him started to rustle and he watched it for what was in it. The sound wasn't very large so he wasn't expecting a terror to come out of the tree. He moved to grip the revolver, ready to pull it out even if he didn’t expect anything threatening, and shortly after he did a cat dropped down from the tree.


	2. Chapter 2

Genji had caught wind of a hunter being sent to the castle because of the happenings in the city around it. There was always wind of hunters now that people grew more wary of the supernatural things that went on around them. But this time the whisperings he hears about a hunter sounded more serious and it really sounded like there was one coming.

Everyone seemed to sound confident. They talked about how the authorities in the city sent off a letter requesting a hunter. They also talked about the response stating that a hunter was being sent. These were new to him. 

Every time hunters were brought up before it always came off as someone who was overconfident boasting that they were sending for a hunter. He hadn’t heard of the authorities getting involved until now.

The people that lived in the city hadn't paid much mind to it in years past but with time everything that wasn't cut down grew stronger. And as time passed and no one stopped the happenings, they grew stronger, Genji, grew stronger because he was allowed to continue to exist.

But of course the happenings weren't terrifying to everyone, especially not the one that was causing all of these things to happen. Doing everything he had was fun. It was one of his favorite sources of entertainment.

Though being able to stay in the castle or wander the city unnoticed was also very entertaining. But something as mundane as that only kept him entertained for so long. Curiosity would always get the best of him and he would have to experiment with his abilities to fulfill that. After all, Curiosity killed the cat.

The more he pondered how things would react to different the more he expanded what he did with his powers. But even with scaring the people like he was he wanted a right to continue to exist just like anyone else.

There were always pests and always tried to ruin his fun though. People would come and try and put a stop to the “spirits” that were plaguing the city. Any blessings that were performed to ward off the dead didn’t keep him away, because he wasn’t dead.

There was no action taken to get rid of a Nekomata so no real action was taken against him. It was all misinformed people trying to do what they thought was right but in fact they were just toying with something that they didn’t fully understand.

But he never before had he actually had such a real threat of a hunter trying to show up to try and put an end to what was going on. Though he couldn't afford to brush off another warning for a hunter. Despite all the false alarms any time if he decided to not listen to them it could be the last time that he did that. This time the prospect of a hunter coming sounded very real.

Even though he hadn’t dealt with one before he knew it would be important for him to keep up his guard. Hunters were serious, some more so than others, but they were all trained in killing the paranormals.

He also didn’t want to be found out. Any creature would naturally want to avoid being found out. If the hunter found him he would lose everything.

He also couldn’t become too over confident or else it could be the end of the line for him. Overconfidence and negligence were the two things he would have to avoid the most when it came to his survival.

Hunters were as close to what humans called the boogeyman but they were that to the paranormal. All the little nekomata he grew up with were told to watch out for the hunters. The hunters would supposedly grab all the creatures in their sleep and carry them off to kill them.

Looking back on the stories now he didn’t understand why the hunters would be called hunters if they just kidnapped everyone in their sleep, that was hardly hunting. But he couldn’t brush off his childhood stories because being carried off by a hunter would be false.

But Genji also had luck on his side because of his unassuming figure no one suspected one of the stray cats that lurked around would be responsible for the ghostly happenings. He could easily move about the town as a cat because no one suspected a thing. He was friendly and cute and it got humans to melt and throw him scraps of food or give him a few moments to sit down and pet him.

With a form like he had he was confident he could fool a hunter into thinking he was the poor little stray cat living in the castle and all he wanted was some food and someone to pet him. It worked on all the humans that weren’t trained as a hunter, so why wouldn’t it work on them as well?

If the cat didn’t work he had his human form, which was just as unsuspecting. No one doubted seeing another human around. He even had friendly conversation with the people around him. And he could easily throw a hunter off with a convincing enough story.

He wasn't a terrible monster like everyone expected. He was just acting on his nature as a nekomata. He had hardly caused any problems other than that he had frightened a few people too much.

Genji got up from his spot in the alley where he was listening to people talk. They said there was going to be a hunter on the next train coming into the city. He doubted they knew that since he would have heard more than whispers about a hunter if they really knew when one was going to arrive. He decided to head to the train station to check the truth of their claims out for himself. 

He padded along the streets and in and out of alleys he knew would make the shortest and most direct route to the train station. This was his stomping grounds and he knew every street and every claimed territory of another cat like the back of his paw, or hand. Depending on which form he decided to take.

When he got to the station he settled in the small spot off to the side that always kept him out of sight. A small nook between a pillar and an ornate bench did him well when he had to keep out of sight but still keep an eye on the happenings around the station. Workers also didn't always appreciate having a cat around so he had to find somewhere he could hide without being noticed when he needed to spy on any possible interesting people coming into the city.

Genji sat quietly in his spot and watched for a while but eventually drifted off due to boredom. He trusted the sound of a train barreling down the tracks would wake him when it was time to watch more passengers coming into the city. If he slept through a train coming into the station then fate would really have to be against him.

He slept peacefully before the air filled with the loud roar of the train and he woke up with a start having the noise shock him awake from a pleasant dream. He watched as the doors to the train slid open and various workers stepped outside to aid passengers off onto the platform below. No one stepped off for a while until one man did and if he wasn't the hunter he was hardly sure who the man would be.

The crossbow strapped to his back was the most tell tale sign of his profession. Though the weapon sent a chill through him. He could easily be looking at the weapon that would soon be used to take his life if he wasn’t careful. He would have to make a good effort at playing the helpless cat role.

He got up from his spot when the man left the station and made his way back to the castle he called his home. He was sure that the hunter knew where to go. He was trained in hunting monsters, not having information like that would be bad his part. Unless the humans still said they were unsure of where all the activity spawned from, then Genji would have some time bought for him.

Genji didn’t know how much time he had he figured the hunter would make his way to the castle as soon as possible if that was where his leads took him. He was going to stick with is direct approach to the situation, trying to play himself up as the helpless little cat. He would make sure he would get the hunter out of his city as soon as possible. Genji wasn’t going to spend his time poking around and avoiding the hunter when his life was possibly at stake.

If he wanted to go indirect and hide from him he knew it would only make the hunter stay longer. But possibly meeting him head on could send him off far easier than anything more passive or indirect.

The path back to the castle seemed to whisk past him as he ran through the alleys and back streets towards the castle. A few cats called out to him as he ran by but he ignored their calls to join them, too determined to get home before the hunter got there. He ran through stands in the market in the city and people shouted at him as if he were an unruly dog. But nothing would stop this frantic run through the city.

He had an idea of the reports this hunter got on the situation in this city that he called home. The castle that he resided in is what many people pointed to as the hot spot for any sort of activity. But just because they were aware of the activity that stemmed from it that didn’t mean they told the hunter that was where their nekomata stayed.

The castle was where he spent his time when he wasn’t out prowling the city doing the things he did best. But he never made it obvious that he was spawning all the activity in the city. 

Because the castle was left so unsuspecting many cats also joined him there and most days the place was crawling with the city strays or any pets that wanted to experience a more wild aspect of life. It was a welcoming place, if you weren’t human. The only time this sanctuary of cats was really bothered by people was when they tried to clean it of the spirits there.

Once back to the castle he made his way around the various rooms and buildings clearing it out of any other cats. He wanted to keep them out of the crossfire if a fight did break out between him and the hunter. He wouldn’t allow the cats he called his friends to get hurt. Especially not because he had the unfortunate luck of being hunted.

Once everything was clear he checked over as much of the castle as he could manage to make sure it really was clear. By then he was getting tired from all the running. The distance from the train station was a decent distance and checking over the castle was a tiring event as well. 

To finish things off for his preparation for the hunter he unlocked the gates to the castle. He didn’t want to see them getting ruined in an attempt to get inside by the hunter. Once everything was done he climbed up into the trees by the gates and settled on one the of the branches and curled up but the trunk for a nap.

Genji slept as he waited for the hunter to show up at the castle. He had enough time to lay around and needed the rest and restore all the energy he just spent. 

He shifted his position so he could watched the gate when he was awake. After a while of sleeping peacefully in the tree he heard the gate shift. The doors swung inward with ease and the hunter stood behind them. He watched him step through the gate and onto the castle grounds, the man looked around the castle grounds briefly. 

The hunter was well armed. He carried more on him now than he had when he first stepped onto the platform at the station. There wasn’t just the crossbow this time, he noticed a gun at his hip as well and various bottles lined his belt and the strap that held his crossbow to his back. He could easily tell how seriously this man took his job and he knew he would have to tread lightly.

Genji felt his stomach twist intensely, fear coursed through him. He needed to swallow it. Fear would hurt him just as much as overconfidence or negligence would against a hunter. He kept his eyes on him and tried to summon everything he could to move. He had to take his direct approach, the one he planned during his mad dash for the castle.

He got up from his spot and his fear seemed to ease. He was walking and walking was good, it was what he needed to do to directly handle him. He felt his confidence coming back with each step he took along the branch of the tree. The leaves rustled with every movement he made and the hunter turned his attention upward to the branch.

He walked along it and could see that the man had stopped moving and placed his hand on the gun at his hip. That didn’t stop Genji. He walked until he got to a place he felt was a proper place to drop down to the ground. He landed gracefully on all fours and looked up at the hunter that looked down at him with confusion.

He had expected this reaction knowing that most hunters dealt with monstrous things and here this one was face to face with a cat. He knew this man didn't expect the little cat before him to be his enemy.

Genji also knew the hunter’s naivety would be what failed him this mission. Genji doubted this man would look at him long enough to notice the two small bobbed tails he had. 

His original tail was cut off in hope of preventing him from turning into the creature he was now. That plan obviously failed the humans because the second was added when he was given the status of a nekomata. Their plan to save themselves from the nekomata backfired, now no one knew this cat was the creature they feared. Not even this hunter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all got a double upload today because chapter 2 didn't do much story wise other than establish a second POV

Jesse looked down at the cat in front of him and almost laughed at himself for being so scared of it. He expected some sort of monster but all he got was a spotted cat. Though he should have expected something small from the sound it made as it moved around in the tree. His nerves got the best of him with how worked up he got himself heading into this hunt.

The black patches on his otherwise pristine white fur was happy and the cat looked at him almost curious. It was a very similar feeling to what he felt coming up to the castle. The cat was friendly, friendlier than most strays he had encountered and it bumped against him as if saying that they should be friends and get along now that they were together.

He didn’t see a reason to object to what he felt was an invitation to spend time together from the cat. He then chuckled lightly and crouched down to take a better look at the cat that was looking up at him. He offered his gloved hand to it and looked over the simple patterns on its fur. The cat bumped its head against his hand and let out a small meow as it closed its eyes and let his scratch lightly behind its ears. It rubbed its head against his palm and moved to rub against his legs. A soft purr radiated from it and he stroked along its back when he could as it walked around him.

“It's a shame you're livin’ in a place like this. Why don'tcha come with me? That is if you don't got a home already. You're pretty well fed for bein’ a stray, if you are one.” He said as he pet the cat when it stopped in front of him and watched as it arched its back happily to meet his hand.

“You’re pretty clean too for a stray.” He hummed as he looked the cat over. It looked well fed and there wasn’t a speck of dirt to be seen on its white fur.

His eyes then fell to the little bob of a tail it had and made a small noise of wonder. “I ain't ever seen a cat with such a small tail. Did you lose it somehow? Was it the creature livin’ up here? Did it steal your tail?”

He felt silly questioning the cat about its tail and if it was taken by the creature here in this castle. It wasn't like the cat was ever going to get around to responding to him. It didn’t even look it had been attacked by anything. It simply looked as if the cat was born without a tail.

He was wasting his time petting and talking to this cat anyway. Despite how much he enjoyed spending time with the animal there were more pressing matters than the mystery of the short tail or using the time for his own enjoyment.He had a mission to be taking care of and people to be saving. He couldn't waste all his time talking to a cat. Especially with the amount of time he did allot for the mission. He only had a couple days planned out for the hunt. 

“I'm sorry, kitty. I gotta try and find whatever's been botherin’ these people....” He trailed off and looked at the creature, it looked up to him and seemed to say that it wanted to come too. He didn’t want to leave it behind now that he knew it was in the castle and the look in its eyes made him want to leave it behind even less.

The cat’s eyes were the most expressive eyes he had ever seen on an animal he thought. It was more than the typical looks animals gave humans. The way the cat expressed itself seemed almost human. It was a little off putting now that he thought of it that way.

“I guess you could tag along if you want to, but I don't know if you wanna get caught up in the middle of a fight. Especially if it gets nasty. I'd hate to have a cute little cat like you gettin’ all wound up in it and gettin’ hurt.”

He pet the cat one last time, a brief scratch between the ears, then stood up and began to make his way further into the castle. As he walked he moved his hand back to his revolver as a precautionary form or reassurance.

Something was still unsettling about this place something seemed to warn him he was still in danger even though nothing seemed to immediately be of danger to him. Normally he would trust this but it also seemed as if his body was putting off a false alarm. Almost as if the thoughts he had been thinking on the train and then on his walk here were effecting him more than the reality that he was facing in this moment.

As he searched for anything that might have been the problem for the people down outside of the castle he seemed to solidify that he was uneasy without cause. Nothing seemed to be amiss. There wasn’t even any tell tale signs of a creature as there normally would be. Nothing seemed to point to there being any supernatural force here.

He concluded the creature he was sent after was either hiding very well or it fled. Sometimes they did flee not wanting to come face to face with a hunter and possibly lose. There was a possibility as well that the creature he was after wasn’t even here in the first place, but he wasn’t going to let one failed attempt keep him from checking once again the following day.

He felt a little let down that he didn’t find any clues worth even beginning to pursue in this hunt. He wasn’t going to clear things up just yet, and that meant the people were going to have to wait longer. It also potentially messed with his plans to make quick work of the situation. He figured that one more day on this castle would be enough to determine if there was anything here or not and he would take that day.

Jesse huffed, upset that this was shaping up to be difficult. He was worried that the longer these people waited the possibilities of things getting worse would increase. But he also thought about the lack of evidence in a monster in the place where the reports seemed to say activity was thought to stem from. It seemed odd to him that nothing was there.

If he left without being able to tell these people the work was done he feared someone would die since the forces behind this issue seemed to be growing stronger, according to the reports. The thing these people feared would grow bolder and it wouldn’t end in someone breaking a bone or a house burning with no casualties.The creature knew it was getting away with all the trouble it was causing. And it already claimed countless victims, but things have been fortunate to have not claimed any lives as far as things have gone on.

Though he did question the validity of the reports now that there was nothing in what seemed to be the most obvious place of activity. With nothing here he wondered if some of the reports were fake or if there was actual evidence in them. He was going to have to look over what he had again.

He looked down at his feet as he felt something bump against his leg and the cat that jumped out of the tree was there at his feet, rubbing up against him as if it were familiar with him. It let out a happy sound and headbutt his leg.

He smiled lightly at the cat wanting his attention. He got down so he could pet it again and sighed as he took the time to relax a bit and enjoy at least one thing that came out of the disappointing situation. Even if he wasn’t going to find the creature he at least could spend time with the cat while he thought about what he could do next, he just hoped it would let him carry it around for a while. He wanted the company of his little companion for a while longer.

Jesse crouched down once more and offered his hand to the cat that seemed to look at him knowingly but it's eyes put him off again. He could tell the animal knew what he wanted to do by the knowing and slightly human gaze it gave him. It was intelligent and he knew it could sense his intentions extremely well.

“I guess you already know what I’m goin’ to say.” He chuckled and pet it at few times. “You seem like you’re nice enough and I would like to bring you along. You’d be a nice companion while I’m here. I don’t have anyone else to keep me company so I’d like it to be you.” He smiled and the cat purred in response. 

“I wouldn’t be able to keep you in my room but I could bring you scraps and take care of you while I’m around. But if you have a family you should go off to them. I don’t think they’d like it if they found out their cat was two timin’ ‘em.”

He felt increasingly silly as he spoke to the cat anyone that saw him would think the scene was very strange. It was just an animal and could never speak to him like he spoke to it. Though it seemed like it was listening, like it could process all his words as if he were speaking to another human.

The realization seemed odd, even for a cat which were odd enough in their nature. But he talked to it anyway even if he was just convincing himself that the cat understood him. By the time he was done explaining the situation to the cat he scooped it up in his arms and headed back out of the castle. He descended the flight of stairs and made his way back to the crowd of people.

The crowd had grown much smaller. Most likely due to the fact that there wasn’t any sound of a fight that had came out from the castle. No monstrous roars or gun fire or crashing sounds. Nothing but the sounds they were surely always used to. 

He stopped a few steps from the bottom and explained himself to the crowd. He felt his stomach twist into a knot as he told them he didn’t save them immediately. He hated that he felt confident that this was going to be quick work on his way there but then ended up finding nothing. 

He wouldn’t have a hope in boosting their faith in him if their morale was already low. Every time he would come back lacking the results they want to see the less and less these people would trust him. It made him feel even more determined to get results for them.

He made his way through the crowd of people that was splitting up after the news was delivered. They all seemed to feel similarly to how he did. No one was happy and people seemed to be doubting the hunter that was sent to free them from their situation. 

He looked down at the cat in his arms. It at least seemed content and happy with him. Though all it probably cared about was that he was taking it to a meal. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to eat himself let alone what he was going to feed the cat. But he’d be damned if he let down a creature that was as naive to the situation as this cat was. If there were one being who wasn’t going to ever be disappointed this whole time he worked it was going to be the cat.

It wasn’t ever going to be let down by his inability to find the creature in the castle. It was just a sweet innocent cat that wanted some food and company. And Jesse was going to make sure he at least was able to achieve that for the cat. If all else failed he would never fail this creature that was happily allowing him to carry it in his arms.

He walked down the street in search of a restaurant where he could either leave the cat nearby and know it wouldn’t wander off or that he could eat outside to keep an eye on it. Despite cats being independent creatures it was at least his responsibility this evening. 

He found a restaurant that allowed for outdoor seating and set the cat down next to him as he sat down on one of the stools. He ordered a meal for himself and looked down at the cat by his feet.

The way it looked up at him with those oddly human eyes didn’t sit well with him. It seemed to know something he didn't, like it was watching him and waiting for him to do something. But it was also trusting him despite being so odd.

He reached down and picked up the cat and set it on his lap. “You can’t go stickin’ your face in my food now. I need to eat just as much as you do, kitty.” He hummed as he pet the cat’s head and shoulders. 

It purred and closed its eyes as if responding with an ‘I know’. The food was set in front of him and he ate his fill before letting the cat eat the scraps he left for it. Once they were both content with their meals he paid for the food and gathered the cat up to head back to the hotel. He walked with it carefully in his arms not wanting to jostle it around too much and disturb the animal.

“I wish I could bring you into my room with me. It’d be nice to have some company. I bet you’d prefer a bed to the ground too.” Jesse said and looked at the cat as it kept its eyes trained on the path ahead of them.

It looked almost as if the cat was watching to commit this path to memory to know exactly where the hunter was the next time it wanted to come see him. He didn’t like thinking about the cat having the thought process to do that, but he also figured what harm would an animal do if it showed up again at his hotel.

“Do you know this area? Is it your stompin’ grounds?” He asked and pet the cat’s chest a little as he carried it closer and closer to the hotel he was staying in. He figured that could explain the way the cat looked at the area. Not that it was trying to remember the place they were at.

“It’d be nice if it was. I’d feel a lot better about leavin’ you outside if you know the area.” And again the cat didn’t respond, but he trusted that it would be fine as he spent the night in the hotel.

He set the cat down on the ground outside as he headed in and went back to the room that he had only partially settled into before. It felt much nicer this time. The bed more welcoming and the atmosphere less thick with tension as he was no longer anticipating a fight. 

He got out the reports and settled down on the edge of the bed with them. He read over the papers and deduced that he thought most of what was written on them could be used as fact. He knew though that the information that related the castle would have to be taken with a grain of salt now that he experienced what the castle was really like.

He finished reading and put the reports away then stripped down for the night and crawled in bed. He was out almost the moment he laid down in bed for the night despite hardly feeling exhausted when he entered the hotel.


	4. Chapter 4

By the following morning Jesse got up and even though he was well rested he was groggy. Something woke him up and it took him a moment to register there was a weight in the bed next to him. Once he realized there was a weight there a meow sounded. He drew the blankets around himself as if they would protect him and looked at the cat next to him, confused.

“How’d you get in here?” He asked and looked around the room. Nothing looked disturbed, and yet here was the cat.

He frowned at the lack of response, as if he was even going to get one that he understood, then got out of bed. He went into the bathroom and washed himself up as good as he could with the water provided and dried off with the small towel. When he was clean he went into the bedroom and got dressed.

He checked himself in the mirror just to curb his fancy once he had all his clothing on. He smirked a little, pleased with how he looked in what he dubbed his work uniform then set to arranging his weapons. He gathered up every one he had used the day before and added a few potions that were meant to attract creatures. He slid them carefully into one of the pockets that lined the inside of his coat and set back out to hopefully finish the job.

When he stepped outside the cat was there to greet him. He hadn’t noticed that it had left the room by the time he came out of the bathroom to get dressed. It slid around one of the plants by the door and meowed a hello, or what he assumed would be a hello. Jesse eyed the animal and crouched down to pet it.

“How did you get out here when you were just in my room?” He asked and scratched between its ears.

There was no response from the cat and he stood up and watched as it wound its way around his legs brushing up against him affectionately.

“I have to get to work.” He said and took a step and the cat chased his foot. He chuckled and started to walk, although it was awkward as he also tried to avoid the cat darting between his legs after his feet.

The two of them wound their way through the streets for a little while before Jesse stopped and looked down at the cat. “I can’t keep walkin’ with you chasin’ my feet like this.” He huffed and the cat meowed at him and reached up to paw at his leg.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked and the cat looked at him and meowed again. “Do you want to get carried?” It meowed once more and he sighed and picked it up.

He wrapped his coat around the cat but made sure to keep its head out so it could see. He set back to walking toward the castle and kept the cat comfortable in his coat. Every now and again Jesse would look down to check up on his companion and every time it looked content.

He had never particularly thought of himself as a cat person, let alone an animal person. His work kept him too busy to really settle in happily with an animal, but this cat was growing on him even in the short time that he had spent time with it. 

Even if the job was a bust he at least wanted to bring this cat back with him. He figured it wouldn’t be too hard to take care of. With how long it was hanging around him he assumed it was a stray and with how healthy it looked the cat probably knew how to take care of itself fairly well.

He wasn’t going to tell the cat his plan just yet though. Even if it was just an animal he didn’t want to get the poor thing’s hopes up in the off chance it could understand him.

The pair got to the castle and he set the cat down as he got to the gate and opened it. The cat trotted inside and looked back at Jesse. He smiled at it and stepped inside. “You can’t go chasin’ my feet this time.” He said as he passed the cat and pulled out one of the bottles with bait for the creature to try and lure it out.

He started to cover things around the area by the gate in the scent to make an area that was attractive to creatures of the supernatural. Even if he didn’t lure out what he was looking for he could always get a pretty penny from someone for catching most creatures. Even if no one knew if the creature was a problem everyone was thankful for the problem being prevented.

Jesse glanced over at the cat every now and again. It had laid down in a patch of sunlight and was watching him mill about as it sunned itself. The cat looked content here and it made him debate the choice he had just made about wanting to take the cat back home with him. But then he thought about leaving it behind and didn’t like that option just as much. He was glad that he had a few days to really decide if he was going to keep the cat with him or if he was going to leave it behind.

He continued to set out the potion, rubbing it on plants and rocks and other surfaces hoping that even if the creature wasn’t anywhere near the castle it was going to smell it and come running. He wanted the castle to be the most attractive place to the supernatural, as long as they weren’t intelligent enough to not realize it was a trap, for the next couple of days while he was here to hunt them.

Once he went through the bottles that he brought with him he went over and sat down next to the cat and let out a relaxed sigh. “Think we should stay here kitty or should we check out some other places today?”

Even if he did leave the castle he could always come back every few hours to check on things. It was probably going to take a while for anything to be attracted to this place anyway unless things were already hanging close by to it.

The cat didn’t move much from the place where it was sunning and Jesse reached down to pet it and was met with teeth in his glove. “Hey!.” He exclaimed as the cat released him from its almost lazy grip.

“I’m goin’ to leave so if you want to come along you’re welcome to.” He said and got up. He looked back at the cat and was disappointed to not see it move from where it was staying.

“Are you goin’ to keep an eye on things here while I’m gone?” He smiled. The cat made a small meow and Jesse was content with that answer.

He left the cat at the castle and went to check other places in the city. A few reports detailed other buildings around the area and he was going to see for himself if they were what they could potentially be or if they were going to be just like the castle.

He wandered around the town for a while and checked up on things. There were a few places that held the evidence he wanted to see. There were a few spots here and there that looked as if there were nests being made as creatures claimed spots for their homes.

This wasn’t odd to find. Almost anywhere that people lived creatures would show up at too. They feed off of humans in one way or another so it benefits them to live close to people.

He was glad that there seemed to be creatures here. Even if he wasn’t going to draw out anything big it meant that his bait at the castle was going to at least be successful to a degree.

As he looked around the various nests and other areas that the creatures were attracted to he noticed how much he missed the company of the cat. Even though he was finding some of the evidence he needed he wanted to share the happiness with the cat.

Any success he had lead him to being able to leave sooner and then lead to him being able to take the cat home with him sooner. He wanted to share the potential of being able to head home with the cat. He thought with how intelligent it seemed would be able to share in the emotions as well.

He decided with the amount of time that he had spent out he would be able to go back to the castle and have some kind of success. He headed back to it and hoped the cat got out of there before anything else made its way into the castle. He didn’t want it to be caught into any unfortunate situation.

He got back to the castle and as soon as he was by the door he heard the telltale sounds of lesser creatures milling about inside. He really hoped now that the cat wasn’t inside or was at least out of the way from them. He hated to think of coming inside to find the cat spread about the castle.

He opened the door and let out a breath, relieved to not find the cat in any unfortunate situation. At least not as far as he could see at the time. But there were creatures he could only describe as imps. There were about four of them inside and they trained their attention on Jesse as soon as he opened the gate.

He moved his hand to his revolver but didn’t pull it until he knew for sure they were going to attack. Once the imps began to shamble toward him he drew the gun. Their small grotesque bodies moved in ungodly ways as they crawled toward him.

Their spindly arms and legs would seem to shake to life each time they moved to place one in front of the other in their advancement toward him. They began to shudder as they moved and unfurled their leathery wings from their backs and launched into the air.

Jesse pulled back the hammer and trained his revolver on one of them and released a breath to steady his aim like he was taught to do. He squeezed the trigger slowly and the chamber rotated until the bullet was aligned with the barrel. The hammer struck the gun and fired the bullet which tore its way through the head of the imp. It’s body went limp and it fell to the ground with a thud. It’s limps and wings crumpled in on the twisted form.

The other three that were left seemed to be enraged at seeing their comrade fall. They charged at the hunter but he was too familiar with these small creatures to let them get much closer. He fired off three more bullets and watched their bodies fall not much further from the first imp’s body.

He slid Peacekeeper back into its holster and went to collect the bodies to take to anyone that would be willing to pay him for his work. Even though these creatures weren’t responsible for what was going on he knew there would be someone who would pay him for killing a few imps.

He set the bodies by the gate and looked around for the cat now that everything was cleared up. He walked around with his hand on the revolver, ready in case anything jumped out at him. As he walked he listened for anything else that may have made its way here, but he figured for now it was only going to be the imps.

“Here kitty kitty.” He called out over and over as he searched for the cat. After awhile he thought it had left because it wasn’t in the castle any more. It hadn’t shown up at all despite him calling for it.

Then right as he was about to leave the cat brushed up against his legs and meowed. He looked down at it and smiled, glad that it finally showed up. “Where were you hidin’?” He asked and reached down for it.

He picked up the cat and cradled it in his arms. “I missed you.” He said and pet it. “Thought maybe something bad happened to you with those imps that were hangin’ around here.”

The cat meowed at him and he smiled at that. “Lets go get something to eat, but first I’ll have to collect money for the imps.” He said and wrapped his coat around the cat so he could carry it with him to the market where he would try to get money in exchange for the work he did.

The two of them left the castle with the bodies of the imps strung together. He walked toward the market and gained odd looks as he passed people. Even though he was easily recognized as a hunter it still wasn’t odd to see someone walk down the street with the corpses of imps.

Once he got to the market he set the cat down to let it wander if it wanted to. He walked around looking for anyone that he could sell the imps to, the cat followed close to his heels as he walked and wound through the crowds with him. 

There almost always was someone who worked with the hunters to some degree. After walking past many produce stands he came across one that seemed to be interested in the imps. The way the vendor looked at the imps made him think it was his best chance.

He went over to the vendor and exchanged the imps for a small sum of money for the four of them. The cat jumped up on what made up the counter for the stand and watched the money be exchanged for the imps. Once the transaction was done it jumped down and trotted off and looked back at Jesse like it wanted him to follow.

He followed the cat since there wasn’t any reason not to. They made their way out of the market and the cat stayed a few feet in front of him as they walked through the streets. “Where are we goin’?” He asked and the cat didn’t meow in return this time and continued to walk.

They neared the restaurant that they ate at the night before and he chuckled. “You were ready to eat, huh?” He said and picked the cat up as they neared the restaurant. He took a seat and set the cat in his lap and ordered what he had the previous day.

Jesse ate and let the cat clean up his left overs like he had before. Once they were done he went to head back to the castle to check on things. The cat trotted behind him as they made their way to the castle. The two of them were away long enough between the market and the meal that something else may have showed up. But as he walked heavy drops of rain began to fall and soon it began to pour as dark clouds closed in over head he cursed at the unfortunate luck.

The bait that he set out was going to get washed away. The scent wasn’t going to be as strong with the rain and the castle was going to end up being less attractive as a result. “I’ve got some bad luck this mission, kitty.” He huffed.

The cat went around front of him and looked up as if it were begging to be picked up. Jesse bent down and picked up the cat. He was sure the cat didn’t want to be out in the weather and neither did he. He figured he could get away with letting whatever showed up be let go so he made his way to the inn.

When they got there Jesse didn’t leave the cat outside and instead snuck it into his room where the two of them could stay dry and warm. He set the cat on the bed and it sat down and watched him as he pulled off his weapons, wet coat, and set his hat aside.


	5. Chapter 5

Genji curled up on the bed and watched the hunter go about drying himself off. He couldn’t help but find it amusing that this man didn’t even realize that he was being watched by the very monster he was sent to hunt.

Though while the fact that the hunter didn’t realise that he had the monster in his presence was funny to him he,also had to admit he did like the man despite thinking he was incompetent.

Not just anyone would happily carry a cat around with them or treat an animal to their meals. He could tell this hunter was very generous and a kind person despite being a threat to creatures such as himself. He couldn’t help but wonder how things would change if the hunter did realize that he was carrying his target with him.

He thought that maybe with how things had gone already that their bond, or what Genji at least assumed was a bond, would spare him. He heard of hunters that weren’t needless killers and this one seemed to be like those tales.

Genji flicked his eyes back to the man and looked over him. He was pulling on dry clothes and he observed the various scars on his body as he did. The hunter paused and seemed to inspect one that looked newer than the rest that slashed across his shoulder.

Genji meowed at him when he saw his expression darken and the hunter looked to him and smiled softly. He made his way over to where he was resting on the bed and pet his head. Genji bumped against his hand and purred warmly.

“Bet you’re glad to be dry and warm tonight.” The hunter said and Genji let out a happy mew in response.

The hunter was right about that. Genji was grateful for being brought inside, he was sure if he snuck inside again it would only make the hunter question things more than he had the previous night.

He didn’t want to make himself too obvious to the person that could kill him if things didn’t go perfectly. He already risked enough showing off that he was intelligent, even if it was only simple things like really understanding him every now and again. But the moment that the hunter picked up on what he was without a doubt would be the moment that he fears.

He got up from under the hunter’s hand and dropped down from the bed to inspect the room before he settled down for the night. He figured he would share the bed with the other. After all he was invited in to the room for the night he was most likely expected to share the hunter’s bed.

By the time the hunter settled down for the night he was content with his observation of the room. He took note of the weapons and other things he had left out. He could tell the man was serious about his job even if he could be unobservant at times.

Genji jumped up into the bed and curled up next to the hunter for the night. He purred contentedly as the hunter pet him and fell asleep before the man did. He knew he was safe to sleep around him for now because of his identity being securely hidden.

The next morning he woke up early and hungry. He climbed on top of the human and pawed at him while meowing loudly, hoping to wake him up. The hunter shifted under him and did just that, groggy and looking a little angry that his sleep was disturbed.

Genji hopped off of him and watched as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He sat with his paws together and watched happily as he got up for the day. It meant that they were going to get food soon.

He bumped his head against the hunter’s side and meowed at him. The hunter chuckled and ran a hand along his back.

“You’re a pest.” He laughed. “Wakin’ me up before I’m ready for the day.”

He didn’t sound upset with him at least, rather just amused at the situation. Genji reached up and bumped his head against his hand and climbed into his lap.

“Did you just wake me up so you could cuddle or do you need something?” He asked and Genji looked at him with large eyes.

Genji’s desire to eat seemed to leave him now that the hunter was awake. He was happy to be close to the other now and rubbed himself against the man to mark him.

“I guess we can cuddle for a little while.” The hunter said as Genji rubbed against him.

The hunter settled back in bed and Genji moved in close, taking in his warmth. They stayed like that for a little while before Genji got up and hopped off of the bed. He padded along the floor and then got on top of the dresser in the room and watched the hunter from there.

The hunter got out of bed and gathered up clothing for the day and laid it out then headed to the bathroom. He spent some time in there before getting dressed. Genji watched as he lined himself with weapons and potions to use, though he wasn’t sure where the hunter would be using those things.

After the rains yesterday the pheromones he set out would be less potent and he was sure that there would hardly be any creatures there for the hunter to take out. But he wasn’t going to tell the hunter that. He wasn’t going to take the time to tell him his plan was useless.

The less time that he spent on things that weren’t working the more time the hunter would spend trying to resolve his problems. So he would let him check the castle for creatures and left him take that time away from possibly getting closer to cracking the case he was faced with.

Aside from keeping the hunter off of his trail he wanted to get him to take him to breakfast. He was hungry again and wanted something to eat before the day became consumed with the hunter’s work.

When they headed out of the hotel, Genji trotted away from the hunter and looked back at him, meowing to see if he was going to follow. After a little hesitation the hunter did. Genji led the way to the restaurant that they had gone to before and waited for the hunter to catch up with him.

“Looks like you’re hungry, huh?”

Genji meowed and waited for him to take a seat so he could then sit in his lap. Once he did he lept up to his lap and settled there and listened as he placed his order.

They ate and Genji got his fill of food, glad that the hunter followed him there so that he didn’t have to beg for scraps from a vendor somewhere else. Spending most of his time as a cat left him without money to buy himself meals most days.

After their meal they went to the castle once more, and to Genji’s prediction there wasn’t anything of interest there. He was glad that there wasn’t anything. He wasn’t in the mood to watch the hunter kill any more creatures, even if it was just imps or other pesky creatures.

He never had a taste for death. Killing was only something he did when he had to do it. It is a cat’s nature to hunt and eat meat, but he took to getting scraps from people around the town instead.

The hunter didn’t seem pleased in the result, but Genji knew it was only going to lead him off of his trail for a little while longer.

He brushed up against the hunter’s legs and meowed at him as he looked around the castle in thought. The hunter looked down at him and he sat down, expecting attention from him.

He got a quick pat on his head and the hunter went to sit down on some stairs. Genji laid down a few feet away from him in a patch of sun and watched the hunter light up a cigar.

Genji relaxed and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sun on his fur.

“Things aren’t lookin’ too good, huh?” The hunter said just as he was about to nod off. Genji flicked his ears and listened to him.

“Think I might give things a couple more days before I pack up and head out again.”

Genji cracked his eyes open and looked at him when he said that. He would miss the hunter and the meals they got together.

“No reason to stick around if things aren’t changin’ and it seems like nature isn’t too happy with me.” He chuckled and shook his head. “That rain was real unfortunate.”

Genji stretched out and yawned. The hunter smiled as he watched him get comfortable again.

“Think I might bring you along with me, kitty.”

Genji looked at him, having to keep himself from sitting up at the news. If he expressed in any way that he could understand what the hunter was saying he feared what might happen as a result.

He didn’t particularly want to see the hunter leave but he also wasn’t against going with him. Genji’s mind quickly began to race, weighing the pros and cons of if he went with the hunter. The largest one for sure was how the man might handle his identity.

A hunter keeping what he would see as a monster with him would only spell out bad news for Genji. He didn’t know of any creatures like him that lived in harmony with a hunter. There were a few that did with humans, but a hunter was a different story. There were a different kind of human all together.

At the least there were a couple days before now and when the hunter left for him to decide if he was going to stick around. As long as the hunter didn’t know that he knew what was going on if he couldn’t find him when he went to leave Genji wouldn’t have to worry about any possibly dangerous situations.

They spent a while at the castle that day. The hunter smoked his cigar and Genji sunbathed happily and took a few naps when he was comfortable enough. It wasn’t until the sun was setting that they even got up to leave.

Genji padded along beside the hunter’s feet and darted in and out of them occasionally. He almost tripped the man most times he did that, but he never seemed to get angry with him, only chuckling and chiding him playfully..

Now that Genji was faced with the possibility of leaving with the hunter things like that stuck out to him. The man never seemed to get upset with anything he did. He was always welcoming and friendly.

With this option to go with him he was now more conflicted than he was about how he thought about the hunter than ever before. Having someone around that was this friendly and this willing to share meals with him was important.

But at the same time he was spending time with who was the enemy to his kind. He didn’t know what to think at this point. The more he thought on it the more he was realizing the decision would be hard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And the decision was hard. Within a few days it was time for the hunter to leave, and Genji was fully aware of that fact. He slunk around the hotel that the hunter was staying at not sure if he should go inside.

He could see from the window that he was packing his things for the train ride back to wherever he had to go. The urge to go inside was just as strong as the urge to leave. He couldn’t tell what he wanted to do now that the hunter was actually going to leave.

So instead Genji moved to sit down and look at the things around him. While it was safe here he knew it would only be a matter of time until a hunter came along and finished the job. But it was also just as unsafe with the hunter. If the man figured him out it would be his life, same as if he stayed in the city.

Genji sat quietly as he watched people move past and felt a soft breeze on his face. Everything was peaceful and he began to feel content with the idea of leaving. There wasn’t anything there that was too important to leave behind.

He heard heavy boots coming toward him and looked at the hunter and stood up. The hunter pet him a few times and smiled softly. “Ready to go?”

The question hit him, but he wasn’t filled with much dred like he was at the thought of leaving before. He let the hunter pick him up and the two of them walked to the train station together.

Before long they were both at the platform and the train pulled into the station. No one got off, as to be expected, and the two of them got on. The hunter settled in his seat and Genji settled on his lap.

Once they were all settled Genji peered out the window and watched as the train began to pull out of the station. This was his first time out of the city and he didn’t expect to return.


	6. Chapter 6

Jesse fell asleep on the train ride back. He stayed up for most of the trip and was glad to see the cat didn’t move much from his lap. That gave him confidence to fall asleep and trust that he wasn’t going to get complaints about his cat wandering around and pestering anyone.

When they got to their destination, the cat was sitting in the seat next to him, curled up and content. He gathered up his things and then pet the cat to get it to wake up. It let out a soft meow when it woke up and he scooped the cat out of the seat and carried it off the train.

They had a few more rides ahead of them and he hoped the cat wouldn’t mind the trip. At least he hoped that it wouldn’t.

“Today’s gonna be a long day, kitty.” He said as he sat down to wait for the next train he was going to take. He let go of the cat so that it could do what it wanted while they waited. He trusted that the cat wouldn’t stray too far; it never had while they were in the city.

Jesse watched the cat jump down off of his lap and stretch out and yawn. “Feels good to be able to stretch out, huh?” He asked and the cat let out a yawn himself.

The train rides were surely going to drain him by the time he got to the headquarters. Just the thought of bringing back a bad report disappointed him enough to drain his motivation.

Time passed and they got on their second train for the day, and later yet their third. By the time they were off of that one they had reached their final destination. It had been well over a day of traveling and he didn’t get much sleep that night from the anxious feeling in his stomach.

Jesse was greeted at the platform by Ana who, as usual, was sent to receive him after his missions. He felt a little better seeing a familiar face there to greet him on his return home.

“The cat is new.” She said and Jesse smiled sheepishly. While pets weren’t against the rules they weren’t exactly allowed in the headquarters for safety purposes.

“I picked ‘em up while I was in the city. Found ‘em at the castle and we became buddies while I was there.” He explained and shifted how he carried the cat. “You want to take ‘em?” He asked and moved so she could carry the cat.

Ana reached for the cat but it dug its claws in to Jesse’s arm and he sucked in a breath at the pain and moved it away from her. “Looks like I’ll have to carry ‘em back.”

“I can definitely see the cat likes you now.” Ana said and looked from the cat then to Jesse and took one of his bags from him.

“Yeah, we got real close while I was there.” Jesse smiled fondly at the cat and followed Ana through the crowds of people.

He was glad to be back home. The familiar sights and sounds of this city were comforting to him, and he hoped that with time the same could be said about the cat. He wanted it to be just as happy there as he was.

They walked a few blocks from the train station and got to the headquarters. Originally the building was a church but with time it had grown beyond that. The longer that the hunters were established the larger their space needed to be.

Now the building took up much of the space that it was allotted and looked less like a church and more like a government building. Which it essentially was. The hunters worked all over as they needed to and had become a force to protect humans from the monsters that made life dangerous.

Their work had moved beyond being that of independent work to being far more regulated the more common their work had become. There were still independent hunters but the work that Jesse’s group did was the more common form of hunting to call for.

This led to regulations being thrown in the group to ensure they were able to operate properly under law. There were also branches in other areas of the world that worked through them at this point as well.

Jesse had to say he was proud to be part of such a prolific and successful group of hunters. It was the fact that they had been able to be so successful with their work that Jesse was even attracted to the job in the first place.

Seeing what they did to help people was inspiring to him and drove him through the years. But he just suffered a failure. Every hunter does, failures are part of any experience. Though the feeling of leaving the people in the city to deal with the aftermath of him leaving wasn’t a pleasant one.

Having to give the report was going to be even more unpleasant. He never liked telling Ana he messed up. Even though she hardly said anything the looks she would give were always the worst part. She would say more in a look than she would ever say in words.

Jesse put away his weapons with Ana when they got back inside and kept an eye on the cat to make sure it didn’t get into any trouble. He had to grab it a couple times when it began to wander.

“C’mon, kitty.” He said and scratched between its shoulder blades. “You can’t just go wanderin’ around now. You’re in a new place now and I have to make sure you’re safe.” He then realized that Ana was there listening to him talk to the cat like he had gotten used to on his trip and his eyes widened.

“Sorry about that.” He said and set the cat down. “I just got in the habit of talkin’ to my little buddy while I was away.” He could feel heat on his face and neck from embarrassment. He hated doing things like that in front of people like Ana.

“Do you really think it bothers me to see you talking to your cat?” She teased and looked Jesse up and down. “I’d have to say it bothers you more, gunslinger.”

Jesse couldn’t object to that statement and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ve got a point.” He said, shaking a finger at her. “Looks like I’ll just have to start talkin’ to the cat like no one’s listenin’.”

“That might be when it starts bothering me.” She chuckled and Jesse laughed as well.

He always appreciated that about Ana. She could diffuse a situation easily if she needed to. He hoped it would come in handy with the report he was going to give.

The situation he had been sent into seemed so cut and dry to everyone that had read the reports before he was sent in. Jesse even thought it was going to be simple enough for him to get to the bottom of. But there was something they weren’t ready for when it came down to it.

He didn’t know and he doubted anyone else was going to easily conclude what happened just from what he brought to the table. He just hoped that by the next mission there would be some headway to the case.

Before he left he did request that the city kept in contact with the hunters on any changes in the situation. It felt bad to ask that of them after feeling that he was going to find a solution. 

But in the end he didn’t want to leave the people of the city without a conclusion on his hunt even if it was a failure on his part. He was sure if he left silently they would have figured things out but it wasn’t his style to do so.

Jesse was just glad that the city agreed to continue to correspond with the hunters on any changes, good or bad, that happened from then until the next hunter was sent. It put him at ease to know there would be help for the city.

“I’m going to write up my report now.” He said with a yawn. “Hopefully I can focus. The train didn’t do me too well last night and I’m pretty short on sleep because of it.”

“Do what you can, I’ll keep Jack at bay for you. Just don’t take advantage of the extra time now. I don’t want to come to you later to hear you got nothing done.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll do my best.” He said and settled down with the cat to put together his report.

His exhaustion from not sleeping on the train caught up to him and he fell asleep after getting a few lines written on the paper. Leaving the cat unattended and his work unfinished. And because of that it wasn’t long until Ana was back with the cat to wake Jesse up.

“Jesse.” She said firmly as she walked over with the cat twisting in her arms, frustrated with being caught.

Jesse blinked awake and looked up at her through bleary eyes and let out a shocked noise once it registered to him what was going on. She looked firm and the cat was still unhappy to be in her arms. He stood up from his seat and righted his sleep wrinkled clothing.

“The cat got out didn’t it?” He sighed and reached to take the cat from Ana. “What trouble did it get into?”

Although Jesse wasn’t sure if the cat was a troublemaker or not he did assume that there was trouble with how Ana looked. She would only come in looking like she did if there was trouble.

“Nothing too major but it could have been much worse. All it did for now was knock a few things off of desks and so on. Luckily I caught it before there was a chance to find any of the potions.” Ana handed the cat back to him and sighed.

Jesse looked at the cat who was thoroughly frustrated with the situation it was now in. He pet the cat hoping that would make it feel better and looked to Ana.

“I’ll clean everything up and replace anythin’ that broke.” He said and looked down at the cat briefly then back to her. “I’ll have to make sure not to bring the cat here again. I’d hate to cause worse damage because of an accident.”

Jesse was glad Ana wasn’t being hard on him. He assumed she knew he was tired and that the trip back had drained him. Although accidents like these weren’t something to take lightly because of how severe they could be he understood what needed to be done.

“Go home, Jesse. Get some rest and come back to finish up your work tomorrow. I’ll clean everything up.” She said and Jesse shook his head.

“No, I should take care of this. It’s my fault the cat got out.” He said and she moved around the desk he was at and took his elbow and his bag of clothing to lead him out.

“Go home, Jesse.” She said firmly. “You need your rest and the cat needs to go somewhere it won’t accidentally get itself in danger.”

Jesse sighed, unhappy with the decision but didn’t object.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He said as she let go of him.

She nodded and waved and Jesse picked up his bag and headed out of the headquarters. He walked home with the cat who had now relaxed. It was watching as the two of them made their way to his apartment and seemed more engaged in that than that it was just caught making trouble back at the headquarters.

They got to the building he lived in and he made his way to the second floor and got to his apartment. He unlocked the door with some struggle, trying to get his key out while also not trying to disturb the cat. Once it was open he stepped inside and set the cat down once he had the door shut behind him.

“Well, this is home sweet home from now on kitty.” He said and watched the cat inspect some of the things he had in the entryway of his apartment.

Jesse took off his boots and set them aside and hung up his hat and coat on the hall tree. He stretched a bit and made his way to his bedroom with his bag and set it off to the side and undressed to go to bed.

He climbed into bed weary and tired and watched the cat trot into the room and jump up onto the bed. It didn’t take long for sleep to start fogging his mind. He was comfortable in his own bed and glad to be back home with all his worries behind him. The small warmth of the cat was soothing as well and soon he was sound asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Jesse woke up to a much larger form in the bed next to him. He couldn’t make out much in the dim light but he could tell whatever it was was humanoid. He sat up and leaned over to light the lamp next to his side of the bed so that he could see better.

When he lit the lamp a soft light was cast on the back of the form next to him. He could see a bare shoulder and short, messy black hair. Everything about this person was distinctly male, and he furrowed his eyebrows at this realization.

He was pretty sure he didn’t bring anyone home last night, he didn’t even remember drinking, let alone drinking enough to forget the night before. The last thing he could recall was the cat coming into his room and laying down in the same place that this man now laid.

And then his eyes widened and he got out of the bed quickly, his foot caught in the sheets and he hit the ground with a loud thud. He groaned and pulled the sheet from around his leg and got up off the ground.

He heard movement in the bed and froze then looked at the man that had been asleep next to him. Jesse prayed that he would stay asleep and that the sound of him falling wasn’t as disruptive as he assumed it was.

The man turned so that he faced him and Jesse watched him briefly before collecting up his clothing to go get dressed. He had to get to Ana as soon as he could and explain what was going on, or at least what he thought was going on.

Right as he was about to head out of the room a sound came from the man in his bed and he looked over at him. He was awake now, there was no doubting that. He could see his eyes look around the room and then they fell on him.

Jesse stopped moving and looked at the other. Their gazes met and Jesse felt the same sensation he had when he looked at the cat and felt like it was too intelligent for its own good. He could feel goosebumps start to rise but kept himself composed.

“Good morning.” The man said and pushed himself up in the bed, the sheets pooling around his waist.

Jesse didn’t say anything and instead found himself staring at the man in his bed. He didn’t know what to do in a situation like this. He knew that the man was aware that he was the cat he had been toting around. Jesse was almost certain that this man knew that Jesse was aware of the situation.

“Cat got your tongue?” The man asked with a laugh and raised his eyebrows as he looked over Jesse. “What a shame, you were so talkative before.”

He got out of the bed and Jesse turned his gaze away from him. Not only was this man the cat from before, but he had neither clothing nor shame.

“You need some clothing.” Jesse said and he heard an amused sound come from the man.

“Is this better?” The man asked and Jesse glanced over and blinked a couple times when he saw that he had conjured up clothing for himself.

Jesse nodded and then left the room quickly so that he could go and get dressed himself. He didn’t care what the man did for the time being, he just wanted to sort himself out so that he could even begin to solve the problem he had on his hands.

He went to the bathroom and got dressed and splashed some water on his face, taking a few moments to compose himself. He looked in the mirror and mulled over what he was about to do, before he went back to confront the man.

There were many ways he could go about this. But he knew at this point the man knew what he might do. He was already familiar with the path to and from the headquarters and Jesse didn’t want to pay for trying to take him back to the headquarters.

He left the bathroom and put on his boots and got his hat and coat. “I’m headin’ out.” He said and the man stepped out of his room and leaned in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest.

“Leaving so soon? I thought you’d stay for breakfast.” He said with a smile and looked Jesse over.

Jesse smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “I don’t really have much here. Didn’t get the chance to get more food yesterday.”

“I can take care of that. You can relax, you’ve worked hard the last few days.”

Jesse looked at the other and tried to hide his suspicion. He didn’t trust what he was going to do now that they were alone and the cat had shown his true colors. But regardless of how he felt he was going to entertain the other for the time being.

“What’s your name? I’m Jesse.” He said and shrugged his coat off and hung it back up where he kept it and hung his hat up as well. He then kicked off his boots and put them back.

“I’ve gone by many, but Genji is the one I like the most.”

“Nice to meet you, Genji. Though I suppose I’m not meetin’ you really. I’ve known you as a cat for a bit now, huh?” Jesse said and moved to sit down in one of the chairs he had and looked over at Genji.

“You have.” Genji said and moved toward the front door. “Now wait here, I’ll be back shortly.” He said and left the apartment.

Jesse got up once Genji left and went to get a notebook so that he could record what had happened that morning. Even if he couldn’t get to the headquarters he could get the message to Ana one way or another.

He recorded everything and put the notebook away so that Genji wouldn’t find things suspicious. Jesse really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Genji’s magic, not with what he assumed Genji was capable of.

Once he had the notebook put away Genji made his way back into the apartment with the groceries he had bought while he was out. Jesse went to help him and took one of the bags from Genji and walked into the kitchen with him.

“You might want this back.” Genji said and passed Jesse his wallet after he set his bag on the counter.

Jesse looked at the wallet and took it from Genji with a raised eyebrow.

“I didn’t even notice it was gone.” He said and looked at him. Genji grinned and waved a hand.

“I think you won’t be noticing a lot of things. You didn’t even notice I wasn’t actually a cat.”

Jesse pressed his lips together when Genji said that and put his wallet back into his pocket.

“To be fair you were convincin’, and I’m not familiar with whatever it is you are.” He said and looked at Genji as he checked around the kitchen for where things were kept. Jesse offered his help when Genji couldn't find where to put something and in no time they had everything put away except for what Genji was going to cook with.

“So what are you exactly?” Jesse asked and leaned on the counter while Genji prepared their breakfast.

“You’re not familiar with nekomata?” Genji asked as he began to prepare their meals and Jesse shook his head.

“I’m familiar with most creatures, but not whatever you are.” Jesse said and Genji let out an amused sound.

“Nekomata,” Genji filled in for him. “I’m a cat spirit.”

Jesse looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows. “So you’re a cat?”

“Not exactly. I’m not a cat any more, but I was. Now I can be a cat or a human as I choose.”

“So kind of like a werewolf?”

Genji stopped what he was doing and looked at Jesse, disappointment glinted in his eyes at the comment he made. “No, not really. I was born a cat, werewolves are born human and are infected with lycanthropy. I became a nekomata because of the life I lived.”

Jesse nodded along with what Genji said. “Makes sense when you put it that way.”

Jesse wanted to press the subject further and find out more about this new creature he had with him. But he was also worried that Genji would become suspicious of his interest with him being a hunter. All these questions probably didn’t come off as genuine curiosity, especially to a creature whom he had been sent to kill.

No matter how friendly things were now Jesse was still a hunter and Genji was still a nekomata. They were naturally dangerous to each other because of the roles they played in the world.

“I’ll leave you to your cookin’.” He said and pat Genji lightly on the shoulder before leaving the kitchen and going to find the journal he had written in before. He sat down at the desk he had in his bedroom and recorded what Genji had told him about nekomata.

Once he was done writing he felt odd about turning this information in to Ana. He enjoyed Genji as a cat just fine, he enjoyed his company as a human as well. Being a nekomata only made things a bit more complicated but it didn’t seem like it was hard for Genji to keep his cat form for long periods of time.

If he talked to Genji about it he was sure they could figure out something to keep him from falling victim to the hunters. He’d be sad to see him go. Even though this morning he wanted to get to Ana after talking to Genji he really didn’t want to turn him in to the hunters.

Genji was a friend. As a cat he was enjoyable and as a human he was someone he didn’t mind spending his time with. He looked at the notes he had written down and shut the book and put it away.

He didn’t want to take any of this to Ana. He didn’t want to take it to anyone. At least not right now, not when no one else knew what Genji was like. He didn’t want to run the risk of someone passing the wrong kind of judgement on him.

He got up from his desk when the smells from the kitchen met his nose and he went to see what Genji was cooking.Everything smelled delightful and he was glad he didn’t protest when Genji said that he was going to be the one making breakfast.

He went over to where Genji was and looked at the fish he was making and the sides he had for it. He hadn’t had fish for breakfast before but he wasn’t about to protest a meal that was made for him.

“I can help you dish it up when it’s all done.”

“No need, I’ll take care of it.” Genji said and didn’t look up from his cooking.

Jesse didn’t object and instead got himself a glass of water and took it into the dining room. Genji had already dished up the food and took their plates to the dining room. Genji placed their meals across from each other and sat down.

He looked up at Jesse expectantly and Jesse sat across from him. He took a bite of the food and smiled to Genji once he did.

“Tastes good.” He hummed and Genji smiled a little at the response.

 

“I’m glad you enjoy it. As long as you let me stay here I’ll make you things like this to eat.”

Jesse paused at the offer. So Genji wanted to live with him. He couldn’t think of a good reason for a monster to want to live with a hunter and yet this one was trying to bribe him with meals.

Then it crossed Jesse’s mind that he had given the nekomata food many times. That must have made an impact on him if he was offering to bribe him with meals. It also meant Jesse had something he could use to bribe Genji with if food meant so much to him.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” He said and took another bite of his food and Genji smiled at him, obviously happy that the hunter took his offer.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a few days since they arrived at Jesse's apartment and he still hadn't taken the notebook to Ana. He had it in the drawer of his desk and hadn't taken it back out since he wrote in it. He debated getting rid of what he wrote no longer wanting to risk having Genji find it and ruin the trust they had.

While he didn't think that he and Genji were at odds with one another he didn't feel like they had a very close bond with each other. Especially not after Genji kicked him out of his own bed at night. The nekomata took a fondness to his human form now that he had reviled it and most nights Jesse was left to sleep in his living room while Genji took over his bedroom.

Part of Jesse wished he could get help on the dilemma, as small as it was. He didn't like feeling as if he were alienated in his own home all because the cat he happened to bring back with him wasn't a cat.

On top of that there were knocking sounds on the walls at odd times during the day and through the night. They hadn't happened until after Jesse brought Genji to his home. And things had begun to move, or at least he thought they were. He couldn't tell if it was sleep deprivation from the unpleasant situation he found himself in at night or if it was connected to whatever made the knocking sounds.

He wanted to bring that up to Ana, but he also didn't know if he wanted to bring her into his home. Not while Genji was in it at least. She'd probably pick up on his presence as something supernatural outside of the headquarters. She was keen on those things and he didn't want to have his secret be ruined so soon.

Jesse got up off of the bed he had made out of his couch and stretched out his sore muscles. The couch really had been paying a toll on his body the longer that he slept on it. But he wasn’t about to start a fight with Genji, he still didn’t know the full extent of his powers.

“Good morning.” Genji said from behind him and Jesse looked back to see the other making his way into the living room. “I suppose you slept well?”

Jesse tracked him with his eyes and wanted to object but instead he didn’t say anything. There was a risk to objecting, a risk he didn’t want to take. And he would rather not fight Genji, especially since the other had been cooking him breakfast for the past few days.

“I am.” Jesse said and got up off the couch and folded up the blankets he had been using for his bed and set them off to the side with the pillow.

Genji didn’t say anything more and went into the kitchen. Jesse could hear him moving around preparing their breakfast for the day. He left Genji be and then ate breakfast with him in silence.

That’s how most of their meals had become, silence. Their conversations had become short and most of their day when spent together felt tense. Their feelings about sharing a home shifted dramatically after spending more time together.

While Jesse still didn’t want to turn Genji in to the hunters he also didn’t want to keep things the way they were. He wasn’t content with the state of his home but he also didn’t want to kill the nekomata. Especially not after spending a few days avoiding showing him to the hunters. He didn’t want to face the consequences that would come with protecting a creature in his own home.

Jesse sighed as he went into his bedroom, glad to have it back even if it was only for a short amount of time. He sat on his bed and looked out the window at the street and all the life happening below him.

After enough time to let his mind wander he felt something soft brush up against his hand and jumped at the sudden sensation. He looked at the cat now by his side and smiled softly.

“It’s been a little while since you’ve taken this form.” He murmured and began to pet Genji.

He went quiet again and moved the Nekomata to his lap. He sat there, quietly mulling over how he would express that he needed proper rest and that he wanted to feel like this was his home again.

But his exhaustion caught up to him and he laid down and fell asleep. For the first time in a few days his rest wasn’t uncomfortable and he managed to take a well deserved nap.

Jesse woke up to a pleasant smell and the content feeling of being well rested. He could tell it was the afternoon from how the sunlight looked in his room. It took him a moment to notice Genji wasn’t on the bed and that he had been tucked in snuggly.

He got up and made his way to the kitchen where the smell was coming from and noticed there was a note on the counter. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar handwriting on it.

It read, ‘Jesse,  
I’ve gone out to get some fresh food for dinner. There’s bread in the oven, it should be done when I get back.’

It wasn’t signed but it had to be Genji. No one else was going to write him a note like that. And anyone else that would have would have a handwriting that he could recognize.

He went over to the oven and looked inside at the bread. It looked delicious and he was thankful that Genji was taking care of him and his meals. He’d make a note of thanking the other for that when he was back again.

He went and got dressed and made his way to the drawer where he kept the notes he had on the nekomata and pulled them out. He sat down at the desk looked them over again, mulling over what he might want to do with them. And left them out for when Genji came back.

He didn’t really know what he was doing with the notes, but he did want to explain that at least he wasn’t looking to get Genji killed. He hoped that Genji would maybe have some kind of solution. But he also didn’t want to have the notes destroyed.

Finding a creature that hadn’t been common knowledge of the hunters before was a big deal. Jesse just didn’t know how he was going to explain how he had the information after telling Ana and Jack that he found nothing out on his previous excursion.

He was sure the two of them would be able to poke holes in his story if he happened to go to them with the notes at this point. He looked at the notebook and got up from the desk. He went into his living room and looked over his shelves of books.

His eyes fell on one of the manuals he was given as a child. It recorded all known monsters and how the hunters had found what was the best method to dispose of them. He pulled it off the shelf and looked over a few of the entries with nostalgia. It had been so long since he had taken the time to even read this particular book.

As he read he realized that the notes he took were very similar. He closed the book and went to get them off his desk and left the both of them in the living room. He knew what he was going to do now.

He’d request time off to record information about the lesser known monsters. It would avoid any problems with the notes he had now and while it would take away from his work he would have time to sort out his situation with Genji.

It seemed almost as if it were a convoluted plan but it was the best he could come up with. Time away from the rest of the hunters only meant that it would be time to think without feeling any kind of pressure form them.

It wasn’t long after he had made his plan that Genji had come back home. Jesse helped him put away the food and once they were done he leaned on the counter as Genji pulled the bread out of the oven.

“So, I have a plan. I don’t know if you’d be interested in joinin’ me in it but I think it’d be better if you did.” He said and looked at Genji.

The other took interest in what Jesse had to say. He set the bread down and looked at him expecting the rest of what Jesse was going to say in his proposal.

“Go on.” He said as Jesse expected.

“Well I’m thinkin’ about goin’ around and recordin’ stuff about the creatures that the hunters don’t know much about.” He said and moved away from the counter. “Hold on.”

He held up a hand and went into the living room to get the book and his notes. He returned to the kitchen and set them out for Genji to look over to get a better idea of what he was going to do.

“What do you think?” He asked and looked over at Genji.

“I think you’ll need a partner, someone to keep you safe.” Genji said and looked over at him with a smirk. Jesse chuckled and shrugged.

“I guess I would.” He said with a smile and Genji shut the book that Jesse brought over.

“When are you going to start this project of yours?”

“As soon as I can. It’ll make it easier to explain why you’re around.”

Genji shook his head and looked at the sketch Jesse had done of him as a cat. He traced his fingers over it lightly and then tapped a finger where his tails were.

“You’ll have to change that.” He said and looked to Jesse. “I’m not a normal nekomata because of how my tails are. I lost mine, all the others have longer tails.”

“How’d you lose yours?” Jesse asked and Genji shrugged.

“An accident.” He said quietly and began to put their dinner together.

Jesse wasn’t about to push the subject, not after Genji had just agreed to going with him to record information about other creatures. He didn’t want to ruin that alliance so soon, especially because it was all for making it easier to explain why Genji was around.

He didn’t want to come across as a liar to the hunters. He already told them the mission was a failure and that he learned nothing. He didn’t want to suddenly turn that around saying it was a success and that he had the nekomata with him. He was sure doing that would raise eyebrows.

Jesse went into the living room and made another sketch, this time of a different cat and added two tails to it like Genji had said to do. By the time he finished his drawing Genji had finished their dinner.

The two ate in silence like usual but the air didn’t feel as tense. It could just be that Jesse felt more comfortable or the two of them really could be finding their common ground. Jesse got up to collect their dishes from the meal once the both of them were done eating and Genji handed his to Jesse.

“I’ve been thinking. If we’re going to be studying creatures shouldn’t you dress like you aren’t a hunter? It wouldn’t make you as threatening.” Genji said and Jesse stopped what he was doing and looked at him.

“You’re right. I’ll make sure to pack accordingly.” Jesse said and went to go wash their dishes.

Most of his clothing that was in good shape were what he wore when he went hunting. He would have to get a few new outfits before he left just for the sake of being less threatening.

“Genji.” He called from the sink and the other came into the kitchen.

“What is it?”

“I think tomorrow I’m goin’ to have to get more clothing. I don’t have enough for how long I’m intendin’ on bein’ away.”

“Do you want me to help you shop?” He offered and Jesse shook his head.

“In the off chance we run into someone I know I don’t want things to be a problem. You should stay here or go out on your own.”

Genji nodded and left the kitchen and went to the living room and sat down. Jesse finished cleaning their dishes and sat down in the chair he kept next to the chair Genji was in.

“Do you think you can let me sleep in my own bed?” He asked and Genji looked over at him with a smirk.

“Would you mind if we shared it?”

Jesse thought for a few seconds and then shook his head. “I guess not.”

That night the two of them shared Jesse’s bed like they had when Genji had first made himself apparent to Jesse as a nekomata. Genji kept his human for and the two of them slept back to back feeling as if sleeping with either one of them facing the other was too familiar for the time being.


	9. Chapter 9

Since making their plans there wasn’t much else they talked about. Jesse got his time off and had himself set with proper clothing for their adventures rather than going everywhere looking like a hunter. He also managed to get Ana to look after the apartment for the both of them while they were away. He was still on the fence about his feelings about Ana after she had kicked him out of the headquarters for exploring.

Despite the fact that Ana was looking after things for them, Genji was content with how things were. He had his own bag of things just to make the trip convincing. He wasn’t about to go on a long trip with Jesse without a bag. He had to play the part of a normal human not of the nekomata counter part of the hunter.

They headed to the train station and handed their tickets off and met their train just minutes before the departure. They had tickets for a sleeper car. Jesse’s goal was to go as far one way as they could manage and slowly work their way back to his home after learning as much as they could about various creatures in the areas they stopped at.

Jesse knew as much as Genji did about what creatures there were out there that the hunters didn’t know about. They did have Jesse’s books with them to reference once they wouldn’t have to study, but they didn’t have any leads on where to look for ones they weren’t familiar with.

Jesse led him to their room and held the door open for Genji to go in first. Genji set his bag down and looked at the room they had for the next few days of their travel. It was spacious enough for the both of them to easily get by on their travels.

“Two beds.” Genji said casually and sat down on the one he had picked for their trip to test out the mattress.

“I figured it’s what the both of us would want.” Jesse said and put his bags away.

Genji didn’t object, but he did feel kind of slighted at the fact that Jesse didn’t want to share a bed outside of the apartment they now more or less shared. He didn’t see what the problem was for the both of them to sleep together. It wasn’t like they were sleeping together in a much different nature.

He got up from his bed and pulled back the thick curtains that covered their window and watched as the scenery began to go by as they pulled out of the station. It felt odd to be riding in something that moved. 

He hardly had the luxury to do so through his lifetime. The only other instance was when the hunter took him to his home, but he was a cat then and didn’t notice the feeling of inertia taking as much effect on him.

 

“I suppose animals aren’t welcome on this train. It looks fancier than the one you brought me home on.” Genji looked away from the window and back at Jesse.

“No, I don’t think they are. It’d be better if you didn’t shift here, for the sake of not gettin’ kicked off.”

He nodded and moved away from the window for the time being. He wasn't content with the idea of not being able to shift but he understood the circumstances. The both of them needed this trip if Jesse were to have a story about keeping a nekomata around. Even if this story seemed like he was beating around the bush with the hunters rather than just telling them what had happened.

“Ya know, Ana’s probably goin’ to recognize you. But there's a lot of cats that look like you, not many of 'em are missin’ their tails though.” Jesse said absently and Genji turned his attention to him.

Jesse was right. Ana might recognize him. She was the only other hunter that saw him for long enough to be able to identity him. He just hoped that their trip away took long enough that she wouldn't think too much on why Jesse had 'another’ tailless black and white cat.

“I think we can make a convincing enough story.” Genji said and sat down on his bed. “We’ll have plenty of time to make it up and work out all the details so that we won’t be caught in our lie.”

They didn’t talk much more after that and Genji left their room to explore the various cars of the train. He took in the cars as he walked through them. Most of them were replicas of the one that he and Jesse were staying in for their ride for the next few days.

The others that were different were the dining car and the cars lined with seats and some had tables in them but were different from the dining cars, they were more like lounges. There were a few places where passengers had set up games to play to pass the time.

He spent a little time observing those rooms and watching the people go about their time on the train. He had spent plenty of time around the people of the city he had lived in previously but he hadn’t seen many people from places outside of there. He sat in a chair off to the side and got himself a cup of tea to occupy his hands with as he watched the scene in front of him.

They acted differently. It never occurred to him to think that people from different parts of the world would act differently. He knew the hunter did but he had attributed that to Jesse being a hunter. But simple things these people did were different. Small mannerisms here and there, things they would say, it was all different from what he was used to.

He eventually headed back to the car that he and Jesse were staying in and found their room empty. He didn’t think much of it and got out the books that Jesse brought with him from one of his bags. He read the spines and let out an amused sound at the titles.

Each of the books he brought with him were the references of creatures that he studied for hunting. But the way they were presented made the creatures seem so other worldly despite existing in the very world that these humans lived in. Genji set a couple of them on the small table they had in their room and settled down to read one.

Genji hoped that Jesse would write his book better. That the way he would write about the creatures would come from a more friendly place rather than the cold and sterile way that these manuals were written.

After all he was writing for the sake of making up a story about him and not admitting that he accidentally brought home the very creature that he had been hunting. He was also sure that if Jesse did tell them right away instead of turning in something that detailed all of Genji’s powers the hunters would take Genji from Jesse for the sake of their own research.

He put the book away after reading a handful of the entries in it and laid down on the bed. Although he was in his human form he was still compelled by the desire to sleep similar to how a cat would. His eyelids were heavy and it didn’t take long for them to shut and stay shut from blinking just a little too long.

His sleep was later interrupted by Jesse. He had come back to their room and woke Genji up to offer to take him to the dining car for dinner. Genji sat up slowly and pushed a hand through his sleep tousled hair.

It took him a moment to wake up fully and he got out of bed to join Jesse for their meal. The hunter led him to the dining car and they sat together. There were a few other people in the car but for the most part it was empty.

“Are you afraid of spending time with me outside of sharing meals?” Genji teased.

Jesse shook his head and looked at Genji through a slightly nervous smile. “I guess you could say I am. You’re dangerous as far as I know and I don’t think you’re the kind of person to kill someone over a meal.” He chuckled.

The corners of Genji’s lips curled into a smirk and he reached across the table. He grabbed Jesse’s jacket and pulled him a little closer and leaned forward. There was fear in the hunter’s eyes, only a little bit but it was enough for Genji to notice.

Jesse wasn’t lying when he said he was afraid of him. That only made things more difficult when it came to their work. He didn’t know how much trust there was between the two of them now seeing the fear in the hunter. It was most likely going to make complications as they wrote the book that Jesse planned on writing.

“If I wanted to hurt you, Jesse, I would have done it already. I am more powerful than you know but that does not mean that I want to hurt you to any degree.” He looked at the hunter with a more serious expression and raised his eyebrows as he watched the man mull the thought over.

He let go of Jesse and sat down in his seat. “I don’t want to hurt you. You’re what’s keeping me safe from all the other hunters right now anyway. If you were out of the picture I’d be dead in no time.”

He looked at Jesse and then pointed a finger at him. “But if you killed me it wouldn’t do much to affect you now would it? A dead cat is just a dead cat to the other hunters.”

Genji could see Jesse open his mouth to protest and chuckled. “You know I’m just joking, right? I don’t think you’d kill me not with what I know. I’ve got too much to teach you and you’ve got too much to learn.”

Jesse didn’t relax and Genji kicked him lightly under the table. “Come on now, hunter. We’re partners for now we have to keep each other alive. Plus I think you’d miss my cooking.” He teased as Jesse shook his head with a small smile.

“Genji you’re a menace.” Jesse said with a laugh.

Genji grinned at him and rest his elbows on the table and rest his chin on the back of one of his hands. “I’d like to keep you on your toes this vacation. You don’t want to go soft now just because you’re writing books.”

“I don’t think I’ll be goin’ soft from this work. There’s still dangerous creatures out there and we’re bound to run into most of them.” Jesse said and looked up at the server that had come over to them to take their order.

They each placed their order and were given their drinks. Genji picked his up and idly spun the water around in the glass and looked at Jesse across from him. “You won’t have to worry much about those creatures. You’ll have me to protect you, hunter.”

Jesse shook his head again and took a sip of his drink. “I think we’ll end up protectin’ each other equally. It’s dangerous out there.”

“Are you afraid of saying yes to needing protection? Or is it just you’re afraid of me protecting you? Saying we both need it isn’t the same as accepting my offer to protect you.” Genji looked at Jesse and smirked at the perplexed look on his face.

“Don’t worry, hunter. I’m just trying to make you feel bad. I’m fine with the both of us protecting one another.”

Jesse closed his eyes and shook his head. “You really are a menace.”

Their food was served shortly after that and their conversations were simple. Small talk about this and that filled the silence as they ate. Once the both of them were done Jesse paid for them and waited for Genji once he was up from the table.

“Sometimes I wonder if you’ve got me goin’ on dates with you.” He chuckled. “All these meals we’ve shared feels a bit like you’re tryin’ to seduce me or somethin’.”

Genji laughed and looked at Jesse. “If I wanted to get you to fall for me you would know, hunter. I just find you fascinating and it’s easiest to get you to sit down for meals so that we can talk. You seem busy or distracted any other time, when you’re eating I can get your full attention.”

“Fascinatin’? What’s fascinatin’ about me?”

“You’re a hunter living with a nekomata and you’re fully aware of what I am. What isn’t fascinating about that to the very creature that you had once hunted?”

Jesse looked at him for a little but but then nodded at the statement. “Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from with that. I just never think of myself as being anything fascinatin’ let alone to a nekomata that’s got powers I don’t even know about yet.”

“Just because you think of yourself as bland in comparison doesn’t make you any less interesting. We’re from very different walks of life with me being a nekomata and you being a human and a hunter. I just think that a hunter that would open his home to what he would normally think of as a monster is very interesting.”

Jesse nodded again and looked at Genji. “Once we’re off this train I want to see what you can do with your powers. I’d like to be aware of what all it is you can do rather than just speculate about it all the time.”

“That’s a simple request to fulfill. I’d be happy to show you.”

“We’ll have to go somewhere no one else can see. I don’t want anyone tellin’ a hunter that you’re nearby. I’d hate to have to hide you from hunters while we’re supposed to be fixing that problem.”

Genji smiled at him and opened the door to their room once they got to it. “I’m worried your kindness is going to get you in trouble with the hunters. You’re sticking your neck out a lot for me.” He said as he shut the door behind the two of them.

He turned to Jesse and looked over his face. He reached out to him and slid a few fingers into the belt loops of his pants and pulled him closer. “I’d like to repay you for the work you’re doing in my favor.” He could see Jesse stiffen as he was pulled in and raised his eyebrows.

“Scared, hunter?” He asked and looked up at his face, his mouth parted slightly.

Jesse looked down at him and put a hand on Genji’s chest and pushed on him lightly. He could see the hunter mulling over what he saw in Genji’s face. The sparkle in his eyes as he looked at the hunter, the intention on his parted lips.

The hand on his chest relaxed and Jesse shook his head. “I don’t think it’s right. I- this, it’s not what we’re here for.”

Genji felt his heart deflate, he let go of Jesse and stepped back from him. He didn’t like hearing that, not after the feelings he slowly felt sparking each time he was around Jesse.

The dinner, the bed they had shared, their time together. It was all building up his mind to mean something more than it had meant to Jesse. He swallowed and looked away from the hunter, feeling guilt bubble up in his stomach


End file.
